Mechanicalia

Today I'm going to share some music I've ripped from vinyl and from youtube videos by friends.It's good stuff, but WARNING, quality may be dubious!

Racial issues during Hurricane Katrina

Found this interesting article through the dead pelican today. Very interesting read and definetly a lot of information to mull over. Katrina will definetly be a defining event of our lifetimes.
http://mshale.com/article.cfm?articleID=18304

Three new items added to my ephemera collection

Bought these today at the antique store on Hodges in the cottage district. Also purchased a surprise for Randy and a bisque figure of a storyville style woman with a black mardi gras mask on. Will post pics of that soon!

random pictures from WFMU and other random sources

windows and doors

Snowday

Fixed some hot chocolate and enjoyed the view from our house today. Yep, that's snow on my porch!

Boycott Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters Yanks Same-Sex Marriage T-shirt From Shelves
12/8/08 at 5:18 PMComment 18Comment 18Comments
The shirt in question.
Photo: Courtesy of Support Shirts
Printed T-shirts are a staple item for Urban Outfitters, but in a rare move, the company yanked one from their California shelves last week. Tara Littman of Support Shirts designed the shirt in question, which features the statement "I Support Same Sex Marriage," clearly a hot-button item in the Proposition 8 state. Less than a week after it first arrived in stores and online, the shirt was gone. A buyer cited the reason as "too much bad press" to Littman, though the designer couldn't find more than one blog entry that dissed the shirt. (Funny how a youth-targeted company blamed the Internet.) But we had to wonder if there was more to it than just bad press. After all, Urban has carried more sensational items than this in the past. In a 2006 interview, the Boston Globe asked Richard Hayne, the CEO of Urban Outfitters, if he felt regrets or second thoughts about potentially offensive products, and he said "very, very, very rarely." So is the veto of Littman's shirt just a case of good ol' discrimination? Consider this: Hayne is a notably right-wing Republican who supports senators who vote for legislation against gay marriage. In fact, last May the British Website ThisIsMoney.co.uk wrote, "Hayne must be the only retailer whose expansion plans depend on no one finding out who he really is." Interesting where your money goes, isn't it? When a right-wing Republican is the one concocting your anti-Establishment image, you start to wonder if the entire hipster movement has been duped into becoming puppets of Hayne's billionaire income. Because if we're all suckers, that just sucks.

By: Sharon Clott

DISCO NOEL

Here it is, ripped from the original cheap vinyl, DISCO NOEL!
http://www.box.net/shared/8p6q65dyxd
enjoy in your best fur-trimmed platforms!One warning, I ripped this myself from the original vinyl record, cleaned it only slightly with Audacity so I am not promising astudio quality professional sound, only something to enjoy for this Christmas holiday!

End Of October

These following photos are of dresses that were exhibited in our 1920's exhibit at the museum. They are from the ICM collection and all are original. The brown and beige was a traveling dress worn in 1927 when a young woman changed to catch the train with her new husband on their honeymoon from LC. The two silk dresses are actually heavily beaded in glass beads. They are surprisingly heavy. The light blue dress is from the early 1920's.


So, I didn't remember to post this to my blog, this is the flyer I designed for Lake Charles' downtown halloween pub crawl. Max and I Djed the street party and JohnnyNewYork M.C.ed. Pretty Snazzy. It was a moderate success.

Photos from my trip to NYC

If you are unaware, I just got back from my trip to NYC. I've been posting the pics this week on a new blog, www.blainemanhattan2008.blogspot.com, check it out if you would like

Antiquing in Round Top

working text

Six-Thirty and I'm exhaling a deep cough in an unexpected nap that overcame me after getting home from work, sometimes it's hard to find the right words to describe the sudden precipitous feeeling that a nap may come on and next thing I'm deep in. The TV continued its lecture at nobody and through that sometimes I caught snippets of things maybe imagined and maybe overheard. The yellow announcer yelled over the mic in a shrill intonation about barbecue and great americans and how in this show you may not think that the man barbecuin' might be that much of an amazing american. But then they found out his home in New Braunfels Texas was created from an an old nuclear cooling water storage tower. The brown steel and grey concrete structure rose steeply from the texan waste and seemed a marvel of technology frozen on the diode screen with the wacky texan with his white BBQ hat and his wife and his saucemop waving frantically in his hand behind his blonde wife in her red tight jeans and cliche white knotted buttondown shirt. Apparently there was a competition between this man and another for amazin' American(!) and the crew followed with their cameras, cords, elctrical boxes with flashing red and green lights into the concrete edifice and followed slowly up its spiral of walkways for possibly an hour to the top where an "executive" suite was for the man and his wife and their perfect children and even a dog, not the sort of lap dogs that don't offen me, but a great border collie or great dane or great beagle or some such other great dog. Still when I woke up, I thought it had happened and instinctively opened the computer and began to search for New Braunfels barbecue man in the search engine.

Sitting Pretty, sheet music artwork

CLIP ART OF THE THIRTIES

Calabria

Strange how this song bores into my head like a boll weevil. Had to know what the lyrics were, and I thought I would share what I found.

Easy now no need fi (to) go down,
easy now no need fi go down,
rock that run that, this wheh (where) we from
(repeat 2x)

Whoop Whoop
When you run come around,
Cau' (cuz) now yuh (you're) de(the_ talk ah (of) de town yea
(repeat 4x)

Easy now no need fi go down
Just wuk(work) it gently and nuh (don't) bruk (break) up no bone,
Cool end-it-ly, you have a style of your own,
Me never kno seh (that) yuh (you) masta (master) de saxophone

cau' u sound like the talk of the town yea,
an' (and) mi (I'm) lucky when yuh run come around yea,
make me wobbly, make me whole body bubble,
an' mi (I) know seh yuh trouble, when yuh ready fi (for) de double,

an' yuh hit dat (that),
note inna de mickle (note in the middle)
play with it a lickle (little),
why yuh soun' a tickle (why(do)you sound tickled(as in laughing hard))
im tellin' you to, hit that
note inna de mickle
stay with it a lickle,
why yuh soun' a tickle
im feelin' dem (them)
(whoop whoop)

easy now no need fi go down,
easy now no need fi go down,
wuk it gently and nuh bruk up no bone

Whoop Whoop
When you run come around,
Cau' now yuh de talk ah de town yea
(repeat 4x)

Best shown overall, shiny and tall,
One touch make a gal climb ova (over) de wall
Brass hat, hotta (hotter) than fireball
Whoop Whoop!
Yuh nuh (You're not) small, yuh nuh lickle at all
Dat touch, just deh pon mi (my) mind yea
De good feelin de pon rewind yea
make me wobbly, make me whole body bubble,
an' mi know seh yuh trouble, when yuh ready fi de double,

an' yuh hit dat,
note inna de mickle
play with it a lickle,
why yuh soun' a tickle
im tellin' you to, hit that
note inna de mickle
stay with it a lickle,
why yuh soun' a tickle
im feelin' dem

Wuk it gently and nuh bruk up no bone

easy now no need fi go down,
easy now no need fi go down,
rock that run that, this wheh we from
(repeat 2x)

Whoop Whoop
When you run come around,
Cau' now yuh de talk ah de town yea
(repeat 8x)

Whooop Whooop!!!
Another interpretation...
(Feat. Natasha)

Easy now no need fi(as in for) go down,
easy now no need fi go down,
rock that run that, this where we from
(repeat 2x)

Whoop Whoop
When you run come around,
Cu(z) I kno ur the talk of the town yea
(repeat 4x)

Easy now no need fi go down
Just walk it gently and no break nah bone,
Cool end-it-ly, you have a style of your own,
Me never kno you saw ya master the saxsaphone

cause u sound like the talk of the town yea,
imma lock u when u run come around yea,
make me wobble, make me whole body bubble,
an me no say ya trouble, when ya ready for the double,
and n u hit that,
no ti-na the mickle (as in nothing in the middle)
play with it a lickle(as in little), why you so na tickle
im tellin' you to, hit that
no ti-na the mickle (as in nothing in the middle)
stay with it a lickle(as in little), why you so na tickle
im feelin' them
(whoop whoop)

easy now no need fi go down,
easy now no need fi go down,
walk it gently and no break nah bone

Whoop Whoop
When you run come around,
Cu(z) I kno ur the talk of the town yea
(repeat 4x)

Best shown overall, shiny and tall,
One touch make a gal climb whoever you are,
Brass hat, hatter(as in hotter) than fireball
Whoop Whoop!
You not small you not lickle(as in little) at all
Dat touch, just dip on me mind yea
The good feelin dip on rewind yea
make me wobble, make me whole body bubble,
an me no say ya trouble, when ya ready for the double,
and n u hit that,
no ti-na the mickle (as in nothing in the middle)
play with it a lickle(as in little), why you so na tickle
im tellin' you to, hit that
no ti-na the mickle (as in nothing in the middle)
stay with it a lickle(as in little), why you so na tickle
im feelin' them

Walk it gently and no break nah bone

easy now no need fi go down,
easy now no need fi go down,
rock that run that, this where we from
(repeat 2x)

Whoop Whoop
When you run come around,
Cu(z) I kno ur the talk of the town yea
(repeat 8x)

Whooop Whooop!!!

New Drawing

New drawing,may use it in October for the group show. Not sure if it doesn't need something else.
Carl & Whisp
Charcoal, conte,and acrylic on cigar paper
August 26, 2008
8 1/2" x 11"

Another Radio Identified

RCA 114 Tombstone (1934)

WOO HOO, found info on one of my radios! AND it's a rare one!

Crosley Radio Corp.
Model 53 - "Mate"
Crosley introduced an entire line of "Repwood" radios in 1931. All were given "nicknames" to go along with their official model number. Table models, like the "Buddy Boy" were popular, however console models are seldom seen. Shown is the Model 53, or the "Mate," a miniature console that is only 30" tall. The chassis was a small five tube TRF using three 24-A tubes, a single 45 output tube and an 80 rectifier. The Crosley Dynacone speaker was allowed to hang on a hook behind the grille. The "Mate" sold for $79.50 in 1931. "Repwood" was Crosley's trade name for the wood and binder combination that was compressed and molded into trim pieces, panels and cabinets.
http://www.radioblvd.com/ConsolePhoto.htm

If You Dare To Click...

Be forewarned that this is difficult material you'll be examining....

http://www.lileks.com/institute/motel/gob1.html
http://gobblermotel.blogspot.com/

I Love Michael Ian Black

- - - -



WHAT I WOULD
BE THINKING ABOUT
IF I WERE BILLY JOEL
DRIVING TOWARD
A HOLIDAY PARTY
WHERE I KNEW THERE
WAS GOING TO BE
A PIANO.
BY MICHAEL IAN BLACK
- - - -

I'm not doing it. I'm just not. I know I say the same thing every year, but this time I mean it—I am not playing it this year. Seriously, how many times can I possibly be expected to play that stupid song? I bet if you counted the number of times I've played it over the years, it probably adds up to, like, a jillion. I'm not even exaggerating. One jillion times. Well, not this year.

This year, I'm just going to say, "Sorry, folks, I'm only playing holiday songs tonight." Yeah, that's a good plan. That's definitely what I'm going to do, and if they don't like it, tough cookies. It'll just be tough cookies for them.

But I know exactly what'll happen. I'll sit down, play a few holiday songs, and then some drunk jerk will yell out, "'Piano Man,'" and everybody will start clapping, and I'll look like a real asshole if I don't play it.

I wonder if they'll have shrimp cocktail.

Now that I think of it, it's always Bob Schimke who yells out, "'Piano Man.'" He does it every year. He gets a couple of Scotches in that fat gut of his, and then it's, "Hey, Billy, play 'Piano Man'!" That guy is such a dick. He thinks he's such a big shot because he manages that stupid hedge fund. Big deal. He thinks because he used to play quarterback for Amherst that everybody should give a shit. I don't. Who cares about you and your stupid hedge fund, Bob? That's what I should say to him this year. I really should. I should just march right up to him and say, "Who cares about your stupid hedge fund, you dick?" Let's just see what Mr. Quarterback has to say about that. And I know he made a pass at Christie that time. She probably liked it—that's probably why she denied it even happened.

I'm such a loser.

Why do I even go to these parties? I mean, honestly, how many times do I need to see Trish and Steve and Lily and that creepy doctor husband of hers and all their rich Long Island friends? Although that Greenstein girl is nice. Maybe she'll be there. What's her name—Alison?

What if Alison asks me to play "Piano Man"? Then what? I've got to stick to my guns, that's what. I'll simply say, "Some other time." Yeah, that's good. Kind of like we're making a date or something. And then at the end of the night when we're all getting our coats, I'll turn to her and say something like, "So when do you want to get together and hear 'Piano Man'?" Oh man, that's really good. That's so smooth. After all, how is she going to say no? She's the one who asked to hear it in the first place! Oh man, Billy, that is just perfect.

Maybe she'll say something like, "How about right now?" Yeah. And maybe we'll leave together. I can drive her back to my place and I can play her the stupid song and then maybe we'll do it. I'd really like to do it with that Greenstein girl. How awesome would that be? Me leaving with Alison on my arm and Bob's big fat stupid face watching us go. That would be too rich. I'd be real nonchalant about it, too—"See you later, Bob."

Who am I kidding? She'd never go out with me. She was dating that actor for a while. What's his name? Benicio? What kind of name is Benicio? A stupid name, that's what kind. Hi, I'm Benicio. I'm so cool. I'm sooooo cool. I should start going by Billicio. I'm Billicio Del Joelio. I play pianolo.

Sing us a song, you're the piano man ...

Oh great. Now it's in my head. Perfect. Now I have to walk around that stupid party with that stupid song stuck in my head all night.

Amherst sucks at football.

You know what I should do? I should just turn this car around and go home. Just pick up the phone and call them and tell them I ate some bad fish or something. Yeah, that's what I should do. This party's going to suck anyway. By the time I get there, all the shrimp cocktail will probably be gone anyway.

What am I going to do? Go through my entire life avoiding situations where somebody might ask me to play a song? I can't do that. No, Billy, you've just got to grow yourself a sack and take care of business. And if that loudmouth Bob Schimke requests "Piano Man," I just need to look him in the eye and tell him I'd be happy to play it for him just as soon as he goes ahead and fucks himself.

Who am I kidding? Of course I'm going to play it. I always play it. Probably the only reason half the people at that party even show up is to hear me play "Piano Man." They probably don't even like me. Not really. They just want to tell all their friends that Billy came and played "Piano Man." Again. Like I'm the loser who's dying to play it. Whatever.

Fine. I'll do it, but not because they want me to, but because I want me to. I'm not even going to wait for them to ask. I'm going to march right in there and play the song and that'll be that. I'm not even going to take off my coat first. Yeah. Let's see what Bob has to say about that. I might even play it twice.

- - - -

Hey everybody.....Ukelele!

"My Little Grass Shack"

I want to go [G]back to my little grass shack
In Kealakekua, Ha[A7]waii
I want to [D7]be with all the kanes and wahines
That I used to [G]know... so long ago

I can [B7]hear the old guitars a-playing [E7]
On the beach at Honaunau
I can [A7]hear the old Hawaiians saying
"Komo [D7]mai no kaua i ka hale welakahau"

It won't be [G]long till my ship will be sailing
Back to [A7]Kona
A [D7]grand old place
That's always fair to [B7]see... you're telling me

I'm [E7]just a little Hawaiian and a homesick island boy
I [A7]want to go back to my fish and poi

I want to go [G]back to my little grass shack
In Kealakekua, Ha[A7]waii
Where the [D7]humu-humu nuku-nuku a pua'a
Go swimming [G]by

Where the [D7]humu-humu nuku-nuku a pua'a
Go swimming [G]by

The Great(er) Depression

I'm very glad to see a children's film as cute as this set in the depression, I think now is a good time for a film like this to educate children about the hardships they may experience in the upcoming economic depression we may have in the years to come.

The Beautiful Despair of the Past

These photos were posted to a model RR forum that I participate in. These color photos grabbed me and I just couldn't believe the beauty of them. I felt like Icould cry, my head throbbed because of the immediacy of their decayed beauty.